I’m no stranger to wrestling. Games like WCW/nWo Revenge and WWF Wrestlemania pretty much raised me, and I never missed a show. But now that I’m older, I see the industry struggling to find a new audience, and games like WWE Champions for Android are part of the problem.

This is part match-three and part action RPG. The mechanics feel fresh within the context they’re used in but they become more familiar when you pull them out of the vacuum. When you start up the game, you’re introduced by The Rock and he helps show you the ropes. You come on as a brand new manager that The Rock sees potential in, but you have to prove your mettle to everyone else.

Gameplay is pretty straight forward, but I will admit there are some improvements over the traditional match-three formula. For instance, each wrestler you use has different stats and does more damage depending on which gems you match. They also come equipped with special moves that are color coded and can be used once you’ve charged them up by matching pairs of the same colored gems.

Unfortunately, the gameplay is turn-based, which means you’re at the mercy of the RNG gods. You can be dealt a pretty terrible board of gems and lose because of it, and when that happens, it doesn't feel good. Wrestlers are unlocked as loot and can be leveled up using coins you earn as you play. You’ll need a good roster because wrestlers lose health when they’re used and need to recoup.

Disappointingly enough, WWE Champions fails to capture that wrestling magic that roped me in as a child. The randomness of the game really got to me and I wasn’t really fond of the match-three mechanics either.